Antiques expert ‘Growing up in

FANS of Antiques Roadshow will already be familiar with Ronnie ArcherMorgan’s fascination with artworks and treasures from bygone times, unravelling their histories and what they represent.

“The world is such a funny place, we pedal a lot of negativity in many ways. And I think through art, I see the excellence of humankind,” observes ArcherMorgan.

“It’s a document of how superbly people can make things, and they leave the evidence of their crafts, their skill, their artistry with us forever – long after the people have gone, their excellence is represented in the very beautiful things they made.”

Recently, he has been revisiting his own history, teaming up with Action for Children on their

‘Star in Every Child’ campaign. The charity, which supports and protects children, young people and their families and runs children’s homes across the UK, is on a mission to highlight the difference it can make when vulnerable children are given the right support and opportunities to shine.

It’s something Archer-Morgan can deeply relate to, having grown up in care himself in the 1950s and early-1960s (including a home run by Action for Children, at the time called National Children’s Home).

“I was honoured to be asked and I feel very passionately about it. The whole campaign just means everything to me, because care saved my life really,” he explains. “My home situation was so dire, I think almost certainly without them, I’d be dead. I wouldn’t be here today.”

Along with former Olympian Fatima Whitbread, who also grew up in residential care, Archer-Morgan was invited to visit Action for Children’s Tan Y Bryn home in North Wales.

It’s relatively new, having only been open for about two-and-ahalf years, but is already having a hugely positive impact on the young people there – including Rhys, 15, whose life has transformed since he moved in.

“The care had obviously saved his life too,” says Archer-Morgan, who got to spend time talking with Rhys. “And I met Dave, his principal carer, and standing right in front of me with Dave beside him, Rhys just said, ‘Dave is like a father to me’. That says everything about Action for Children’s work, really.”

He admits he found the visit emotional, and it brought back memories of his own principal carer Sister Ida – “an amazing woman” whose kindness and positive influence he still cherishes to this day.

“Every human being, to manage in the world, needs to have self-belief. And that’s what the ‘Star in Every Child’ campaign is about, to imbue every child in their care with self-belief,” he says. “I saw that manifest in front of me with

Rhys and Dave – and I’m feeling emotional talking about it – but it was such a thing to see, this carer who had been everything for this boy growing up in very difficult circumstances. We’re lucky to have people like this in the world,” he adds, “we’re lucky to have organisations and people that really care.”

As well as saving his life, growing up in care shaped Archer-Morgan’s life too. Before carving a path as an antiques specialist and joining the muchloved BBC One show in 2011, his eclectic career saw him working as a photographic technician, a DJ in various London hotspots in the Seventies and Eighties (including iconic Ronnie Scott’s jazz club) and as a celebrity hairdresser on TV and film sets, amongst other things.

But no matter what, an appreciation for good craftmanship, creativity and art (which he studied at London’s prestigious Hornsey School of Art) was always part of the picture – and scouring markets, antiques fairs and junk shops soon revealed a talent for “spotting a masterpiece” and sniffing out pieces other people seemed to like. All of this can be traced back, in some way or other, to his time in care.